Present methods for cleaning arrays of microfluidic dispensing devices typically involve concurrent treatment of all the instruments at a single time. For example, the instruments are positioned in an ultrasound bath or in a pressurized manifold for washing all of the instruments at once. In the ultrasound baths, the array of instruments are simultaneously soaked in either a static or flowing bath of wash solution and then similarly rinsed or dried either at the same station or at other, specialized, stations. Such washing systems require copious amounts of wash fluid and of rinse fluid. Moreover, due to local variations of how the fluid acts upon the instruments, such washing systems do not provide a uniform treatment to each of the instruments in the array. Some of the instruments may thus receive a more thorough treatment than others within the array. Any non-uniformities in the treatment of the instruments may thwart the uniform performance of all of the instruments within the array.
A pressurized manifold treatment station is sized to accept all of the instruments of the array within a sealed treatment chamber. The manifold typically seals itself against the array in a fluid-tight manner so that high pressure washing and rinsing fluids may be directed against the instruments without unacceptable leakage out from the chamber. The manifold may either provide a unique insertion orifice for each instrument in the array or a larger opening for accommodating all of the array therethrough. Such manifolds, however, are not scalable in that they may only accommodate an array of a single given dimension. Changes in the layout or number of instruments in an instrument array may require provision of a new treatment station tailored to the newly-shaped array. Moreover, pressurized manifolds do not provide a uniform treatment to all of the instruments of the array as the localized effects of the cleaning and washing may vary from instrument to instrument.
The current methods or systems used for treating an array of instruments can therefore negatively impact upon the performance of the instruments when uniform performance is a premium desire. For example, non-uniform treatment of arrays of microfluidic dispensing devices may prevent the arrays from acceptably dispensing very small amounts of fluid samples in a microarray.
In view of the foregoing, there is therefore a need in the art for an instrument treatment system which is able to accommodate an array of instruments and provide each like treatment.